Starting July 1, UNM Rainforest Innovations will start giving out a Lucky Entrepreneur Coin™ to each newly founded startup company based on a University of New Mexico technology.
Starting a new company is a rigorous endeavor and these coins will be a token of recognition for the hard work and determination it takes to start a new business. New businesses play a significant role in our local economy and their success impacts the entire community as seen in the Statewide Economic Impact of the University of New Mexico Report. To date, 170 companies have spun out from the University of New Mexico, and in academic year 2022, New Mexico based startup companies affiliated with UNM Rainforest Innovations employed roughly 274 New Mexicans, paid an estimated $21.6 million in wages and salaries, and generated $39.1 million in total output.
The Lucky Entrepreneur Coin™ was started by Right to Start, a campaign to rebuild the American economy by making entrepreneurial opportunity a top priority in every community. They drive civic change through grassroots organizing and mobilizing, policy advocacy and engagement, and lifting the voices of entrepreneurs through media and storytelling. The coins are an effort to support entrepreneurs and show support for their right to build their dreams. Learn more about Right to Start here: https://www.righttostart.org/